Fly fishing is a popular and rapidly growing sport. Fly fishing equipment typically includes a fly reel attached to a fly rod, and fly line. A portion of the fly line is wound onto the reel, and another portion is typically threaded through eyelets on the rod. The other end of the fly line is joined to the "fly." In this sport, an artificial fly is usually used as bait. The artificial fly is dressed to simulate an insect and typically comprises a fish hook fabricated with fur, feathers, or the like, in order to resemble an insect, or other forage, preferred by fish.
When performing the activity of fly fishing, the fisherman projects or "casts" the fly to an area where fish are expected to be. It is often necessary to cast the fly a substantial distance away because fish are easily frightened away from a fisherman or a boat. Moreover, it is sometimes desirable to be able to cast into an area that is not easily accessible to the fisherman's person or his boat.
The flies used in fly fishing are extremely light weight and consequently, the fly line makes up virtually all of the casting weight. Hence, effective fly casting comes down to the ability to efficiently propel a portion of line through the air. The most common technique is performed by holding the rod and reel in one hand and at the same time holding and feeding the line from the reel in the other hand while swinging the rod back and forth creating a loop of fly line between the end of the rod and the fly. Then, a forward casting motion, similar to a whipping motion, is executed and the line is released, propelling the line and the fly across the water. The fly line acts somewhat like a whip in order to propel the line and fly a distance away from the fisherman. The artificial fly is then manipulated in the water to lure and hook a fish.
Fly casting is an extremely dexterous skill involving very subtle arm and wrist movements and is usually learned only after a long period of practice and refinement. Fly casting involves such a fluid, delicate and precise motion, that it is often described as an art form. Moreover, during a day of fly fishing, a fisherman can often make more than a thousand casts. With this in mind, it can be seen that the overall weight and proper balance of a fly fishing rod and reel assembly are critically important.
Due to the desirability of light weight and proper balance of the rod and reel assembly, conventional fly fishing reels have been relatively small in size, having both a small spool diameter and a narrow spool width. Conventional fly fishing reels have inner spool diameters designed only large enough to accommodate an axle and may be as small as one-half inch in diameter. Typical spool widths are about 3/4". The small spool diameter and narrow spool involve several significant drawbacks. Firstly, the small diameter causes sizable plastic deformation ("line memory") of the fly line wound on the small diameter spool. This effect is similar to the characteristics seen in a coiled spring. Line memory is undesirable because it can cause tangling of the line and snagging in the rod guides. This effect is worsened by the fact that the narrow spool requires that the spool also be very deep in order to hold sufficient line that creates an even smaller inner spool diameter. Thus, the line at the innermost diameter of the spool has a very small winding radius.
Secondly, with a narrow spool, the spool must also be deep in order to provide storage capacity for a sufficient amount of line. The ratio of the spool width to the depth of line is termed the line-storage aspect ratio. In other words, the narrower the spool, the greater the depth of spool line needed resulting in a small aspect ratio. Typical fly fishing reels have line storage depths greater than one inch (1"), and usually greater than 1 1/2". The drag torque on the spool of fishing reels tends to be nearly constant. As a result, as line is reeled on or off the reel, the tension on the line changes as the radius of the line on the spool changes. For instance, as more and more line is reeled off, the tension on the line increases as the diameter of the line on the spool decreases because the drag torque remains roughly constant unless manually adjusted. The narrower and deeper the spool, the greater is the change in the drag torque for a given amount of line change on the spool. Because both of the fisherman's hands are usually occupied with the rod and line while fly fishing, it is inconvenient and cumbersome to adjust the reel drag. Therefore, it is impractical to frequently adjust the reel drag while reeling in or letting out line to compensate for the changes in the radius of the line on the spool.
In addition, the small spool diameter results in slower line retrieval for a given rotational winding speed of the spool. To increase the winding speed of the spool, some fly fishing reels are equipped with a transmission system, usually consisting of reduction gears between the spool and the hand crank. However, a transmission system makes the reel assembly more complex, adds parts, and increases weight.
To address the problems of slow line retrieval speed and plastic line deformation, a reel having an increased diameter spool has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,056. The disclosed spool retains the narrow width of conventional reel designs, thereby requiring a relatively deep spool. The reel described therein has exposed bearing rollers for providing drag on the spool. The rollers, however, produce the same amount of drag in both rotational directions so that the fisherman must reel against the drag when retrieving line. This is a highly undesirable result. Furthermore, the increased diameter reel is attached using the conventional configuration having a "foot" extending from the top extremity of the reel circumference. The scat clamps to the rod. In this configuration, increasing the diameter of the reel moves the center of mass of the reel further from the axis of the rod thereby increasing the moment about the rod and upsetting the balance of the rod and reel assembly.
In order to control the speed in which the spool of the reel can spin and, in turn, the speed the line can be run-off, especially by a running fish, fly reels generally employ some type of brake or drag mechanism. A drag mechanism applies frictional torque to the spool thereby preventing the spool from freely spinning that can cause line tangles. The appropriate drag torque is set such that a running fish will not create so much tension that the line or the leader will break, yet still provide enough tension to control the speed of line run-off.
Typically, the drag mechanisms are adjustable so that the drag torque can be modified to the appropriate amount. For example, many current reels utilize a disk brake system comprising a disk and an adjustable caliper. The disk brake system is usually enclosed within the disc-shaped body of the reel. The disk brake systems can tend to be heavy and can require assemblies having many parts. A simpler dual cone drag mechanism has been described in a brochure of Mt. Rainier Flyreel Works. However, this dual cone drag mechanism suffers from being unstable in that it wobbles creating inconsistent drag and a loose feel.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved fly fishing reel designed specifically to address the aforementioned disadvantages associated with currently available reels. More specifically, the fly fishing reel should improve line retrieval speeds, reduce line coiling problems, improve line handling, while at the same time being light weight and maintaining good overall balance of the rod and reel assembly.